The transport disruption to expect as Met Office issues weather warning

The year is beginning with millions of travellers on the move – but with disruption on the railways and roads, and in the skies. The Met Office has issued a “risk to life” weather warning as snow hits the UK, with transport links set to be affected. These are the key concerns.

Thousands of passengers hoping to fly between the UK and Amsterdam have had their flights cancelled because of snow and strong winds at Schiphol airport.

KLM, whose main hub is at Amsterdam, grounded dozens of flights to and from the UK flights on Friday. Cancellations have continued on Saturday with at least 40 flights axed. They include links from Aberdeen, Birmingham (two), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow (two), Humberside (three), Leeds Bradford (two), London City, Manchester (two), Newcastle (two), Norwich (two) and Teesside.

EasyJet has grounded 20 flights between the UK and Amsterdam on Saturday, including links to and from Bristol (two), Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick (two), Luton, Manchester, Southend and Stansted.

British Airways has cancelled a round-trip from each of Heathrow and London City.

During the 17 days of the festive spell from 19 December to 4 January, aviation analysts at Cirium report 42,046 flights are scheduled to depart from UK airports with a total of 7.8 million seats. That is an average of more than 100 takeoffs per hour, with almost 20,000 seats.

Departures are up 2 per cent compared with the festive period in 2024, and available departing seats are up 4 per cent year on year.

Many airports are expecting a surge in passenger numbers on Sunday 4 January.

London Heathrow has the highest number of flights, with one in five departures being from the UK’s busiest hub. It is expecting its busiest festive spell to date, as are Birmingham and Manchester airports.

The top destinations from many airports are:

The final weekend of the festive season is seeing many travellers displaced to other lines by Network Rail line closures, while severe weather is causing disruption. The northernmost line in the UK, connecting Inverness with Wick and Thurso, is blocked.

More widely, Network Rail says: “In very cold weather, snow and ice can build up on the tracks blocking points, the equipment that allows trains to move between tracks. Ice can coat the electrified third rail and overhead power cables, preventing trains from drawing the power they need to run and leaving them stranded. Icicles on tunnels, bridges and other structures can also damage trains and overhead power cables.”

Widespread Network Rail engineering work is underway. Some key stations and lines are closed, putting pressure on other routes.

The West Coast Main Line, which connects London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, north Wales and southern Scotland, remains closed on the key stretch from Milton Keynes and Rugby up to and including 4 January.

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A key junction at Hanslope, south of Rugby, is being replaced. Rail replacement bus services will operate. In addition, Chiltern Railway from London Marylebone to Birmingham, the East Coast Main Line north from London King’s Cross and the East Midlands line from London St Pancras will take the strain.

Further north, the West Coast Main Line is closed in Cumbria to enable Network Rail to replace an ageing bridge over the M6 motorway. The line will not reopen until 15 January. Avanti West Coast is providing a scenic train diversion along England’s most beautiful line, the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

Until 6 January the line from Carlisle to Lockerbie is also closed, with rail replacement buses.

Passengers between Scotland and London are being urged to use the East Coast Main Line from Edinburgh to London King's Cross.

London Liverpool Street station – the busiest in Britain – has reopened after eight days of engineering work.

For the next two weekends, starting at 8pm on Friday, the M6 in Cumbria is closed to motorists between junctions 39 and 40, reopening at 5am on Monday – with the same pattern of closure from 9 to 12 January.

In addition, the M27 in Hampshire is closed between junctions 9 and 11 until 4am on 4 January.

Traffic will build through the weekend leading to the return to work on Monday 5 January. Some prospective key locations for congestion are:

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Caledonian MacBrayne ferries in western Scotland are disrupted on Saturday 3 January and through the first weekend of 2026 due to severe weather. Cancellations on Friday include all ferries between Ullapool and Stornoway (Lewis), and some services between Ardrossan and Brodick (Arran).

Sailings are running normally between the Port of Dover, Calais and Dunkirk. The port authorities in Dover are urging drivers not to arrive more than two hours before their scheduled departure.

Unlike aviation, there is no penalty for missing a ferry at Dover due to congestion; you will simply be rebooked free of charge. “If you missed your ferry, please don’t worry,” the port is telling motorists. “You’ll be put on the next available sailing.”

This article is kept updated with the latest information.